The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1887-12-01
Edison,s Wonderful New Phone


A special TO the n. Y. Evening Post
says: When found in the labratory
of his lamp factory in Newark, from
which 1000 lamps a day are now sent
out, Edison said that the commercial
phonOgraph is now the most interest.
ing thing in the world to him although
IL IS perfectly finished, and tools are
being made for its manufacture upon
\ large scale. The stories which Edi-
san tells of what his perfected phono.
graph will do are 50 extraordinary
that he scarcely expects people to be-
iieve him, and yet he says that the
apparatus is so sImplc, so effective. and
30 immediately useful, that he is Ger
tain of its rapid Introduction into bu-
sincSS-far more certain than he was
of the universal adoption of the tele.
phone as a business instrument Edi
son said OF his newly finished phopo.
graph:
You know that l finished the first
phonograph more than ten years ago.
1t remained more or less OF toy. The
germ of something wonderful was
perfectly distinct, but tried the i'm
possibility with it, and when the elec,
tric light business assumed CONNER,
cial importance, L threw everything
overheard for that.
| been more or less constantly in my
mind ever since. When resting from
prolonged Work upon the light, my
brain would revert almost autumatI-
cally to the old idea. Since the light
has been finished, L have taken UP The
phonograph, and, after eight months
OF steady work, have made it COM
merciai invention. My phonograph l
expect 70 see in every business Office.
The first five hundred will, l hope, be
ready for distribution about the end of
January, Their operation is simple
ity itself, and cannot fail. The mer.
chant or clerk who wishes to send q
letter has only to set the machine in
morton, and 10 talk in his natural
voice and Al the u-ual rate OF sp ed
into the receiver. When he has ii u
isked, the sheet, or phonOgram,' as [
call it, is ready for putting into little
box made on purpose FOR the mails
We are making tne sheets in three
siHas-one for letters of from SU0 to
GOO words, another size Tor 2,900
woIdS, another size for 4 600 words.
expect that all arrangement may be
made with the pcstOifice authorities
enabling the phonogram boxes To be
sent at the sane rate rs u letter.
The receiver of a phonogram will
put it into his apparatus, aud the mes.
sage will be given out mole clearly,
more distinctly, than the best tele
phoue message ever sent. The tones
az The voice in the two Photographs
which 1 have finished are 80 perfectly
rendered one can distinguish between
twenty different persons, each of " h0m
mas said few words. One tremendous
advantage is that the latter may bs
| fslh 4
The phonogram does not wear out by
use. Moreover, it may be filed away
for hundred years and be ready tue
instant it is n.eGsd. Ii a man dictates
his VIII 10 the phOnogra, il, there will
be no dispdting the authenticity o
the document with those who knew
tue tones OF his voice in life. The cosI
of making the phonogram will bi
scarcely more than the Uost of ordina
ry letter paper. The machine vii
read out the letter or message at ths
, same speed with which it was dicta
ted.
have ex perimea ted with a deyics
for enabling printers to set type direct
ly from the dictation of the phSuo
: graph, and think that il will work Il
) "a charm. 1t is SO arranged that tn,
printer by touching a lever with hi!
foot allows five or ten words of the
phonogram to be sounded. If he j,
, not satisfied with The first hearing, b,
: can make it reprat the same word
over and over again until he has then
in type. For busy men who dictate
b great deal for the press, am sure tha
the phonograph will be q necessity
, after rcry little experience.
. . For :Hlsicians, the photograph i
going to 40 wonders, owing to the ex
! treIue vheapness with which I cal
1 duplicate phOnOgrams, and the deli
t cacy with which the apparatus give
out ala musical sounds. In the earl,
ph"nograph of ten years ago. which
was very i'm mperfecL and crude affai
3 compared with that of today, it wa
; always noticed that musical sound
! came out peculiarly we'll, The ma
chine would whistle or sing far bette
than it would talk. This peculiarit,
: of the photograph remains. 1 hav
. taken down the music of an orchestra
, and the result Is marvellous, Eacl
Instrument can be perfectly distin
3 guished, the strings are perfectly dis
v tinct, the violins from the cellos, tn
+ wind instruments and the wood ar
perfectly heard, aud even in the note
l of a violin the ovortones are distinc
to delicate ear. 1t is going to wori
s wonders for the benefit of music low
\ ers A piece for any instrument, 70
the piano, or for an orchestra, or al
act, or the whole of AN opera, musica
Y instruments and voices, can be giveI
4 out by the phOn0greph with q beaut,
, of tone and distinctness past belief
and the duplicating apparatus for pho
l nOgrams Is so cheap an affair that thu
{ price of music FOR the phonograph will
tie scarcely worth considering. AS tn,
:, photograph will be practically indie
structible by ordinary use, such musi,
can be played over aud over again.
My first phonograph, as you re
3, member, consisted simply of u role
carrying the fuli, and provided with
diaphragm point properly arranged {,
scraLe or indent the foil. The role
4 was turned by hand. In the new in
strumtnL there is far more cOmplica
iion, but altogether different results
My prUpeiling machinery consists o
a small electric motor run hy YER,
, few cells. Strange TO say, have feunt
p more difficulty III getting motor t,
Z suit me than any other part of the ap
paratus. L tried various kind Of clocl
< work and spring motors, but foun,
= them untrusLworthy and noisy. Th
t motors l am now making are abso
e lutely steady and noiseless There i
y no part of the apparatus, the tools TO
: which l am BOW making upon larg
y scale here, which is likely to get ou
4 of order or to work in an uncertain
4 manner. The two finished phono
: graphs are practically exactly what
intend To offer for sale within q few
/ months.n
j Among the things at which Mr.. Ed
ison is hard at work, taking them al
= in turns, are the cotton picker, tn
heat generator OF electricity, and
r new device for prOpelling street car
e by electricity. AS has already beef
mentioned, the heat generator ha
i been brought to standstill by tn
: lack of nickel in this country. Th
: cotton picker upon which he is a
I. work is the result of an idea which
!, came to him down in Florida last win
ter. He is not quite sure that it will
result in practical cotton picker, bu
5 he has faith enough in it to make tn,
/ experiments. He will not yet say il
s what consists the essential feature o
t his proposed machine. The last worl
whioh he proposes to do very soon i
7 to run the Orange street cars upon al
. IL -. u L